All objects around the television screen are projected through visualizations which can “change the appearance of the room, induce apparent motion, extend the field of view, and enable entirely new game experiences.”

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2013/01/09/microsofts-illumiroom-projects-images-with-kinect-for-an-immersive-game-experience/feed/24Disney DreamPlay toys come to life on your tablethttp://www.vg247.com/2013/01/08/disney-dreamplay-toys-come-to-life-on-your-tablet/
http://www.vg247.com/2013/01/08/disney-dreamplay-toys-come-to-life-on-your-tablet/#commentsTue, 08 Jan 2013 22:30:24 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=328285Disney has teamed up with Nantworks and JAKKs to launch a new line of augmented reality-enabled toys.

Using a free app, purchasers can use a tablet to interact with toys licensed from Disney character; examples include Tinkerbell and Sebastian the crab.

Reuters reports the app will be available for both iOS and Android, and the toys, which are a few dollars more expensive than their non-AR cousins, are on show at CES 2013.

Toys R Us and Top-Toy have signed up to carry the DreamPlay line.

The product has some similarities to Skylanders, but without a full game world; its existence may explain rumours that Disney Infinity, which is due for reveal next week, will have Skylanders-like functionality with real world objects.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2013/01/08/disney-dreamplay-toys-come-to-life-on-your-tablet/feed/0Sony’s CES presentation skirts around gaming, talks tech – reporthttp://www.vg247.com/2013/01/08/sonys-ces-presentation-skirts-around-gaming-talks-tech-report/
http://www.vg247.com/2013/01/08/sonys-ces-presentation-skirts-around-gaming-talks-tech-report/#commentsTue, 08 Jan 2013 08:49:22 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=327963Sony’s CES presentation took place in the wee hours this morning, although PS3, PS4 and PS Vita were notably absent from proceedings and instead, tech took centre stage. Some critics have even gone so far as to raise concern over what has been called by one site as ‘disappointing’.

Variety reports that Kaz Hirai made clear his intentions for steering Sony into the next wave of consumer electronics from the outset, stating, “When I was named CEO, I made a commitment to revitalize Sony’s electronics business”, which he said includes, “Digital imaging, games and mobile.”

Hirai and Sony towed a heavy line regarding the recording of 4k resolution films and television, and that the company is pushing for the format as standard, citing the incoming Will Smith flick ‘After Earth’, along with films ‘Elysium’ and ‘Oblivion’ as the next titles to sport the flashy new visual sheen.

There will also be a new line of what the site called ‘Mastered in 4K’ Blu-Ray releases, including The Amazing Spider-Man and Total Recall. There was also talk of a 4k video camera and a – presumably rather expensive – 84-inch Bravia 4k television that I’m sure you nor I could ever afford. There was also the reveal of a new 1080p Xperia Z smartphone.

IGN called the presentation “disappointing”, and was full of claims that Sony had been working in the consumer electronic business longer, better and harder than the rest of the pack, as if trying to remind attendees that they still bore relevance in the industry. The site also said that the presentation’s actual announcements felt like “an after-thought” by comparison.

During his presentation, Hirai stated Vita sales were on the “low end of what we expected,” noting it can take 5-10 years before Sony can acknowledge whether a product has been successful or not, adding that “long term is what is important.”

Chatter is rife among the industry that a PS4 reveal is incoming at Sony’s ‘Destination PlayStation’ event, kicking off February 25th-28th. It’s a retail-only event, which typically signifies that retailers such as GameStop and supermarket chains will be getting an exclusive glimpse at what game publishers will be releasing throughout the year ahead.

This means that they may well see PS4 ahead of the press, as has been known to happen in previous generations.

The question is: given what we know about Sony’s financial losses last year, and its ailing performance in other areas of consumer media, would the reveal of PS4 help turn around the company’s dip in any real, significant way? Yesterday, Michael Pachter says ‘yes’, but sitting on this side of the fence – among the press – there’s a mixed air of caution and excitement surrounding the company’s future. it could go either way.

For now though, our own sources have told us everything there is to know – at the moment – regarding the PS4’s specs. Check out our report here.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2013/01/08/sonys-ces-presentation-skirts-around-gaming-talks-tech-report/feed/34Valve-backed living room PC system debuts at CES 2013http://www.vg247.com/2013/01/08/valve-backed-living-room-pc-system-debuts-today/
http://www.vg247.com/2013/01/08/valve-backed-living-room-pc-system-debuts-today/#commentsTue, 08 Jan 2013 01:32:38 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=327898Valve and Xi3 will today show off a modular computer designed for Steam and the big screen TV in your living room – a “Steambox”, in other words.

The hardware was developed by Xi3 but financially backed by Valve. It’s not ready for launch yet, and Xi3 is calling the hardware shown at CES 2013 a “development stage” product. But there’s a picture of the chassis available; it’s said to be the size of a grapefruit. Check it out below.

The new product hasn’t got an official name yet, but has been codenamed “Piston”, and is designed specifically for Steam and its Big Picture mode, with Xi3 making specific reference to home use as well as LAN parties.

“This new development stage product will allow users to take full-advantage of their large high-definition TV displays for an amazing computer game experience. As a result, this new system could provide access to thousands of gaming titles through an integrated system that exceeds the capabilities of leading game consoles, but can fit in the palm of your hand,” Xi3 CEO Jason A. Sullivan said.

The modular computer will be on show at Valve’s CES 2013 booth, but beyond a mention of Valve’s investment, Xi3 has declined to give further comment on the two companies collaboration.

Although the press release specifically mentioned that no technical details would be provided right now, Xi3 marketing officer David Politis told Polygon that it is similar to the X7A line in both specifications and likely price – so about $1,000.

It will have up to 1TB of internal storage and allow for component upgrades such as RAM and even CPU, coupling the console-like convenience of standardised hardware with PC future proofing.

Polygon reports from the CES 2013 showfloor that the prototype Piston on show had HDMI out, two mini display ports, four USB 2.0 ports including one dedicated to a keyboard, four USB 3.0 ports, ethernet, four eSATAp ports, and both optical and bog standard audio out.

Valve told Polygon the firm will be meeting with hardware and content developers to show “multiple” custom hardware prototypes during CES 2013.

“Valve will be at CES to meet with hardware and content developers in our booth space,” Valve marketing director Doug Lombardi said. “We are bringing multiple custom prototypes as well as some off-the-shelf PCs to our CES meetings.”

The prototypes were described by Lombardi as “low-cost, high-performance designs for the living room that are great candidates for Steam and Big Picture,” with more information released to the press and public “in the coming months.”

GeForce Experience
The GeForce Experience, as Nvidia calls it, is a suite of tools which allows users to achieve the best possible performance settings without having to fiddle with them on their tod.

CEO Jen-Hsun Huang said Nvidia has a team of expert gamers which play every game, and determine which settings are best for performance and visual fidelity. When a gamer uses the GeForce Experience, it automatically takes both these optimal settings and the user’s hardware capabilities into account, and adjusts the game’s settings accordingly.

This is supposed to introduce an element of stability to PC gaming, so that, console-like, players get the best possible results without having to make adjustments which can seem esoteric and confusing to new PC gamers. The suite will come free with GeForce hardware and is designed to lower the entry barrier to PC gaming.

Nvidia Grid Gaming System
Accessibility seems to be Nvidia’s catchword this year; it wants to bring the glories of PC gaming even to those not ready to lash out on hardware. It went into more detail on its previously announced cloud gaming initiative, the Nvidia Grid Gaming System.

The new offering will support SmartTVs and low-end devices like laptops, allowing them access to Nvidia’s tech farms, which it calls the Grid, to play and access save files.

Huang said the Grid will deliver on the promise of cloud gaming, because it supports up to 24 users on each server – more than many existing server architectures do, making cloud gaming more practical.

Nvidia won’t offer a streaming games service like OnLive or Gaikai; it intends to license the tech to partners. Each licensed Grid System includes 20 Grid Servers, with 10 GPUs each. It provides 200 teraflops of processing power, which is equivalent to 700 Xbox 360 consoles.

Tegra 4 and Project Shield
While it was at it, Nvidia also used the CES to unveil its latest high-power mobile processor. The Tegra 4 has 72 GU cores,making it about six times as powerful as the Tegra 3. A new image processing engine means it can complete oeprations at ten times the speed of current devices.

The new processor retains the quad core set up of the Tegra 3, but it has Cortex A15 cores and is compatible with LTE networks.

As usual, Nvidia claimed the new tech is the fastest mobile processor ever.

Of particular interest was a video of something called Project Shield, a Tegra 4 powered gaming device. The portable console looked like a typical twin-stick control pad attached to a 5″ screen, and runs Android.

A micro SD slot allows for cellular connection, and HDMI allows you to hook up to a larger display should you wish. The on-board sound is supposed to be pretty special, and the built-in battery provides up to 38 hours of juice, Nvidia boasted.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2013/01/07/geforce-experience-grid-gaming-tegra-4-at-nvidia-ces-2013-presser/feed/9Mad Catz to launch mobile gaming peripheralshttp://www.vg247.com/2013/01/03/mad-catz-to-launch-mobile-gaming-peripherals/
http://www.vg247.com/2013/01/03/mad-catz-to-launch-mobile-gaming-peripherals/#commentsThu, 03 Jan 2013 23:49:18 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=327217Mad Catz is adding its own line of controllers, mice, keyboards and headsets to the growing number of accessories designed for mobile gaming. Kotaku reports the GameSmart line uses Bluetooth Smart to connect to a range of devices – Android tablets and smartphones, iPads, iPhones, iPod Touches, Windows 8 tablets and PCs. The peripherals will be shown at the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show next week.
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